


Blood of the Covenant Is Thicker Than the Water of the Womb

by AngryMintLeaf



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Dorks, Extremely tiny amount of angst, Fluff, Friendship, Ghost BC Reverse Big Bang 2020, Illustrations, Roughhousing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26257957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngryMintLeaf/pseuds/AngryMintLeaf
Summary: Four water ghouls all grow together after the death of the Papas and become a tight-knit group of friends.This fic is for the Ghost Reverse Big Bang hosted at @ghostbcfandomevents on Tumblr. The two artists I worked with for this story are @beliefscontagious and @specterruins over on Tumblr. They are both such great artists and I'm still really happy having the opportunity to work with the two of them and creating this story.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7
Collections: Ghost BC Reverse Big Bang 2020





	Blood of the Covenant Is Thicker Than the Water of the Womb

**Author's Note:**

> The first art piece is by @beliefscontagious and the second is by @specterruins. 
> 
> Delta is one of the ghouls that played the role of an aether and a water ghoul throughout the years of Ghost and had left the project during Papa III's era (I believe). Full credit to beliefscontagious for the name of the character!

Dewdrop lazily strums his guitar, not having it plugged in to avoid getting a noise complaint. Hearing a knock on the door, he sets down his bass, throws on his mask, and goes to answer the door. “What?”  
  
The last thing he expects is to see Delta, an old bandmate of his, crying. “The Papas are dead,” he mutters, unable to meet Dewdrop’s eyes.

“Wh...What do you mean?”

“They’re dead! Replaced with that one rat loving Cardinal.” Delta pushes his way inside Dewdrop’s room, sitting--or more so sinking--into the bed. When Dewdrop doesn’t say anything for a few moments, he speaks up again. “Imperator and Nihil decided they just… needed to go.”

Dewdrop freezes in his place, unable to imagine how their past leaders were dead. Gone forever. Those few moments he had sharing time with the Third, both on and off stage, unable to ever happen again. That rush of joy and pride he felt when he was praised or able to have a simple, casual conversation with the Papa. As the feelings weigh down on him like the weight of a whole ocean, Dewdrop starts to cry and ball his fists and his eyes dart around the room as if their murderer was in the room. Dewdrop growls and starts screaming, desperate for any sort of relief, and his eyes lock onto his bass.

Delta winces and covers his ears as he hears the bass get smashed against the wall over and over and over again. The horrible energy in the room was suffocating and not only Dewdrop and Delta were experiencing it, but the whole Church was. Their funerals felt brief in comparison to the parties celebrating Cardinal Copia as the next leader. It was as if the Papas meant nothing to Nihil and Imperator. 

Only a few days since their deaths and things still didn’t feel normal. Delta wanted somebody to talk to and Dewdrop wasn’t responding to him at all. Delta walks to the cafeteria, getting food on a plate, and looking around, spotting Mist and walking over. “Hey,” he greets. “Can I sit here?”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” she says. “You feeling alright?”

Delta looks down at his plate, poking at his food with his fork. “I guess? It’s been fucking hard. Doesn’t help that Dew doesn’t wanna come out of his hidey-hole.” Delta stabs a piece of fruit with his fork.

“I would love to do that, honestly. Walking around just makes me think about them.” Mist continues eating, the two of them sitting in comfortable silence for a few minutes. “We can try and speak to Dewdrop, drop off some food for him.”

Delta nods and opens his mouth to speak before changing his mind. The two of them get up and get food on a plate for their friend before they go. They walk down the hall in silence until they spot a ghoul wearing a newer mask looking around. “You lost?” Delta asks.

“I-I don’t know where I am,” the ghoul says. “My body changed and… I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Oh, shit, were you just summoned?” Mist asks. “You have a name?” The ghoul shakes his head. “Okay, uh, we’re just dropping off some food but we’ll get you into a room.” The ghoul nods and follows their lead. 

Delta eyes him up and down as they walk. He’s pretty tall and skinny—which isn’t anything rare given he was freshly summoned—and he can’t help but linger on the details on his tail. Delta looks away when he realizes where he was staring. “Uhm, I’m Delta and this is Mist. I’m guessing you’re a newer era ghoul since your mask is different.”

“Why are we wearing them? Why do we have to wear them?”

“It’s… just a thing ghouls have to do on the surface. You get used to it. It’s nice when you don’t wanna care about how you look,” Delta says, patting the ghoul’s shoulder as they stop by Dewdrop’s room.

Mist knocks on the door. “We brought you some food.” Mist waits a few moments as she’s met with silence. “You gotta come out eventually. They’re not coming back so—“

“Shut up!” Dewdrop shouts from inside. “I don’t want to hear it!”

Delta grimaces and speaks up, “Just take care of yourself, that’s all that we want.”

The door swings open. Dewdrop stands there, breathing raggedly and glaring at the three of them. “You fucking pricks don’t even care that they’re gone,” he mutters. “And why should I fucking care when you guys replace me!” He shouts, motioning towards the ghoul. “If I go out I know I’ll end up killing that mother fucking rat.”

Mist rolls her eyes and Delta frowns. “We’re not replacing you,” Delta says. “We found him lost in the hallway, Dewdrop.”

“Can you just stop acting like an asshole?” Mist tries to reason with him. “It’s okay to be upset, Dew. I get it, but that doesn’t give you the right to be a prick. We’re all angry and upset.” Dewdrop clenches his fists and looks away from them before moving to sit down on his bed. Mist walks inside and sets down the plate on the bedside table, pulling Dewdrop into a hug. Mist can feel him slowly relax and lean into her touch.

Delta looks to the new ghoul. “We should, uh, get going,” he whispers, closing the door to Dewdrop’s room walking off with the ghoul.

“I just don’t get it,” Dewdrop mutters. He doesn’t return the hug but is more than happy to receive some form of comfort. “Why would they kill them? Nihil is just a fucking puppet.”

“I know, Dewdrop. It’s painful. I don’t want you to get hurt or hurt anyone though, but believe me, I more than understand the temptation.” Mist pulls away from the hug. “You should eat and drink some water.”

“I know,” he replies. “I will.”

Fortunately for the newly summoned ghoul, getting settled in was quite easy thanks to Delta’s help. The sounds of the surface were much, much more calming in comparison to Hell. The sound of crickets chirping is such an odd but delightful noise that he never experienced before, but unfortunately, it wasn’t helping him fall asleep. He gets up and looks out his window, gasping as he sees the stars dotting the sky. He didn’t want to risk getting lost, so he takes off his shoes, jumps out of the window and lands in the grass. It felt so different against his bare feet. Staring up at the sky, he walks toward the sounds of the cricket.

The farther away from the church, the stars became brighter. He stands in the middle of the small, open field, looking up at the sky. He sighs contently. Then he feels a hand on his shoulder and his eyes shoot open and his heart pounds in his chest. He’s dead meat now, right? Then it’s the sound of laughter and the newbie ghoul reluctantly turns around.

“Don’t fucking shit yourself!” Dewdrop says, cackling loudly and holding a skateboard. “You’re like a damn deer.”

“S-Sorry,” he mumbles.

“You shouldn’t be out this far. You even know your way back?”

“Yeah, I came from that way,” he answers, pointing towards the church. He scowls as he remembers Dewdrop’s animosity towards him. “Why do you care?”

“If I see someone standing out here in the middle of the night, I wanna investigate,” Dewdrop explains before promptly turning and heading back to the church.

He watches Dew for a brief moment before rushing to walk beside him. “You’re Dewdrop, right?”

“Yup.”

“Sorry if I was rude.” He didn’t want to make any enemies on his first day because then things could get even more difficult and confusing. “What… What are you holding?”

“It’s my skateboard,” Dewdrop answers. “I picked it up since the last tour. Makes it really easy to spend the time.” Not even sure what he meant exactly, the ghoul nods. “You wanna try it?”

“I don’t know how to… use it.”

“Well, that’s what trying is for, right?” Dewdrop jogs over to the pavement and sets the board down. “Just stand on it.”

He cautiously walks up to the board, nervous that it’s some cruel trick. He puts one foot on the board and goes to step on it with his other foot but it was too late for that. The skateboard shoots out with the uneven weight and he topples over. “Oof! You did trick me!”  
  
Dewdrop laughs and goes to help the other ghoul stand. “I didn’t trick you, asshole, you just didn’t stand on it right.”  
  
“You didn’t tell me that,” he mutters. 

“How about the name Rain?”

“What?”

“Rain. Cause, you know, you fell,” Dewdrop explains, retrieving his skateboard. “Or maybe like… Steam? Nah, Rain feels right.”

“...Fine. I’ll go with that,” Rain says. Despite never having a concrete name, it felt pretty nice to belong to a word. “What does Rain mean?”

“Water that falls from the sky. Pretty fitting.”

“Ah.” To him, it sounds pretty dangerous how water will just drop down on them so he doesn’t mind it as a name. Rain looks at the skateboard. “Let me try again.”

Dewdrop places it down. “There you go. Break it and I’ll fuck your shit.”

If anything, Rain feels like he could break a bone more easily than he could break the board. Being very slow and cautious, Rain steps onto the board successfully this time even though he’s wobbling. “What do I do now?”

“Use your foot to push you along,” Dewdrop guides him, keeping a hand on his back as they slowly go along the pavement.

The two of them stayed outside for quite a while until Rain had trouble staying on the board due to how foggy his brain felt from exhaustion. “We should get back,” Rain says as he brushes himself off. “I don’t know if I can go much longer.”

“What’s your room number? I can take you over there.”

“Fifty-two,” Rain answers and yawns. Dewdrop takes his skateboard and heads inside with Rain. They walk in silence to Rain’s room. Once there, Rain looks to Dewdrop. “Thank you for your guidance.”

“Yeah.” Dewdrop turns and starts walking down the hall as Rain tries the door.

“Uh… Dewdrop?”

“What?”

“It won’t open.”

Dewdrop turns and walks back. “What do you mean? Is it locked? How the hell did you manage that?”

“I went out through my window. How do you open it?” Rain asks.

“You need the key for it, dumbass. Uggh, fine, let’s go outside and get you in there,” Dewdrop groans, putting down his board. “Meet you over there,” he says before going down the hall on his board.

Rain slams against the door a few times and gives up and goes back the way they came. Rain spots Dewdrop’s small figure over by the side of the church, looking up. Rain stops and looks up at the window, trying to jump up and get in. His arms wobble as he tries to push himself up and into his room but it’s too high. “I… can’t get it.”

Dewdrop groans. “Okay, just get on my shoulders.”

“Can you even hold me?”

“Shut up before I leave you out here,” Dewdrop grunts as he squats down slightly. Rain looks between Dewdrop and the window. Reluctantly, he slowly gets on Dewdrop. “Oof! Okay, fuck… get up in the window for Satan’s sake.”

Rain hoists himself up into the window with more ease than before but falls into his room. “T-Thanks.”

“Don’t do it again.”

Rain easily falls asleep and is woken up by a knock on the door. Mist crosses her arms and waits for a reply, getting a bit worried that something happened to him. She’s about to knock again until the door unlocks and opens. “Morning. You want to go down and get breakfast? I don’t want you to get lost on the way there.”

“Uh… yeah,” Rain agrees and steps out of his room.

“Did you sleep in your uniform?” Mist asks, walking away once the door shuts. 

“What else do I sleep in? I was too tired to really care.” 

Mist eyes Rain, noticing some dirty spots on it and even a few, small holes as they walk down the hall. “How the hell is your uniform so dirty already? What did you do?”

“Dewdrop taught me to ride a skateboard last night,” Rain briefly explains. “And he named me Rain.”

“He came out of his room then. Damn… you even want the name Rain?

“I like it. It sounds cool to me,” Rain says with a shrug. “I thought he would hate me.”

“Yeah, he can be a prick but he’s our little asshole,” she says with pride. “I just want him to be okay. We can drop off some food for him again.” They walk down to the cafeteria, getting their breakfast to go.

Delta knows Dewdrop will hate him for waking him up early but he wants to check in on him. He presses his ear against the door. There isn’t too much he could pick up on. Delta steps back takes a deep breath and knocks. The door swings open. “What are you doing up so early?” Delta asks.

“I haven’t slept yet,” Dewdrop admits. “You don’t have any food with you?”

“I can get some or see if Mist is up yet.” Delta steps inside. The room is quite the mess, but it’s usually this messy. He carefully steps over the skateboard to sit on the bed. “Why don’t you sleep?”

“Don’t want to.” Dewdrop jumps onto a bean bag chair and sinks into it. He sighs. “Your cool, new friend is, well, pretty cool.”

“The new guy? Dewdrop, he’s not replacing you, don’t ever fuckin’ think that,” Delta states and looks up as the door opens. “Speak of the Devil.” 

“Brought you breakfast,” Mist says, holding a bag up. “Your door wasn’t closed all the way. Can we come in?” Mist asks, motioning to Rain.

“Doesn’t matter,” Dewdrop grumbles and sits up to take the bag from Mist.

“But as I said, he’s not replacing you—“

Delta is cut off by Dewdrop. “I get it. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Okay… good.” Delta looks between Dewdrop and Rain. “I just didn’t want either of you to be mad at the other, that’s all.”

Rain nods and looks around, not surprised that Dew’s room is messy. He takes a few steps forward and steps on the skateboard and suddenly he’s on his back. 

“Holy shit! You okay, Rain?” Mist asks and kneels down next to him. Delta stifles a laugh and then his brow furrows in confusion. “Ugh, Dewdrop, why can’t you just clean your room a little bit,” she says as she helps Rain stand.

Delta watches Mist pull him up. “Wait… his name is Rain?” 

“I gave the name to him cause obviously he can’t stop falling,” Dewdrop speaks up, thankfully without his mouth full. 

Rain rolls his eyes and brushes himself off. “It’s only because of your skateboard that I fall and I would have told you if I had the chance, Delta.” 

“Nah, I think gravity is really fucking attached to you,” Dewdrop jokes as he stabs a pancake with his fork. Before he could take another bite, there’s yet another knock on the door. He groans. “What?!”

A shorter era three ghoul stands at the door and even in uniform all of them recognize him as Special. “Cardinal Copia would like to see you, Dewdrop. I will take you to his office.”

Dewdrop’s brow furrows and he stands up. “Whatever the hell he wants, I don’t want it.”

“Hmm, is that true? You don’t want to be a band ghoul again?” Special asks, a spark of playfulness in his eyes. 

Delta looks between Dewdrop and Special, internally screaming at Dewdrop to just go. Dewdrop growls quietly. “I don’t want to work with him.”

“Okay, well, auditions begin in a week from today,” Special states and waves. “Take care of yourself, now,” he says before quickly leaving.

Once the door shuts, Delta shouts, “Dude! Why the fuck didn’t you say yes?!”

“I don’t wanna work for that piece of shit!” Dewdrop scowls. “He’s the reason why they’re dead,” he spits out and stomps back over to his bean bag chair and sinks into it. 

“Yeah, but you can tour again! I didn’t even get much time. If the Cardinal is choosing you, then that means a fucking lot,” Delta argues.

As the two of them bicker, Rain and Mist stand back and listen. Rain didn’t really know what they were talking about but is trying to pick it up as it goes while Mist is torn between both of their opinions.

“That all that matters, you unloyal dick?” Dewdrop hisses.

Delta rolls his eyes. “Of course not. I just… you have the opportunity, Dewdrop. You know how much I cared for those bastards and you know it was Imperator that really was the one that made the order,” Delta tries to reason. “You know what? Doesn’t matter to me if you do it or not.”

Mist sighs. “Everything about what happened is shitty. I love being able to perform but I get it, it’s hard, especially after what happened. I think it would just work out if you at the very least considered it,” she says. “That’s just my opinion anyway. It doesn’t matter what we think, it’s your decision.”

Dewdrop takes a big bite of pancake and stares at the floor as he thinks about what they said. “I fucking need time,” he grumbles. “I don’t know if I can manage to live with that prick for months on end.”

“That’s something to consider,” Delta says as he rubs his temples. “Okay, I’m going cause I’m getting a major fucking headache. Have a good day you guys, sorry about the arguing, Rain.” Delta pats Rain’s shoulder and then walks out.

“You two gonna leave?” Dewdrop asks.

“Do you want us to?” Rain questions him back, making Dew briefly hesitate.

“Doesn’t fuckin’ matter if you do or don’t. I’m staying here and eating.”

“We can swing by again later,” Mist replies. “We love you. Cya soon, Dewy.”

The door shuts. Dewdrop sighs, a part of him wishing that they had stayed but it’s too late now. Some days go by with Dewdrop staying inside his room and getting food dropped off by Mist or Delta. Dewdrop was starting to get bored and irritated at almost every little thing. What’s really grinding his gears is how hard playing his bass is. He can get into a song but flub up, which for him, almost makes him want to smash this new bass again.

An idea struck. If he fucks up the audition for band ghoul, he’ll make Delta happy for doing it and won’t end up being in the band. Simple as that. Dewdrop grabs his bass and stalks off to the Cardinal’s office, dragging the bass behind him. Dewdrop opens the door without preamble. “I want to audition.”

Copia looks up. “Oh, uhm, yes. Who might you be?” Copia sits back and flips through some papers until he gets to the one he wants. 

“Dewdrop,” he states. Dewdrop puffs out his chest and his free hand is balled up into a fist. How could someone that looks like such a wimp be a Papa? 

Copia takes a few moments to write some things down on the paper before looking up. “You’re one of the Third’s ghouls aren’t you? I’ve heard and seen great things from you and I was hoping you weren’t busy when I sent Special to speak to you.” Dewdrop stays quiet. “What would you like to play?”

“Pinnacle to the Pit,” Dewdrop answers.

“Perfect song for the bass.” Copia nods. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Dewdrop does the intro of Pinnacle to the Pit but does it all off-key. “There. How’s that?”

Copia is quiet for a few moments, his brow furrowed. “How about Year Zero?” Dewdrop does the same thing and can’t help the shit-eating grin on his face. “Strange… you know, it’s often that people can get rusty after not playing for too long.”

“Yeah, I’m super fucking rusty,” Dewdrop says and exaggerates a nod.

“I’ve always loved your spirit, Dewdrop, and I know you are very skilled. If you don’t want to be a band ghoul, then you should just say so,” Copia states nonchalantly. Dewdrop freezes and then frowns. “I don’t want your talent to be wasted, but it is your choice to be a part or not. I think you would even do great as our lead guitar.”

“What? I’m a water ghoul.” Dewdrop refrains from calling Copia a dumbass.

“It doesn’t matter too much to me,” Copia says. “You have that kick, Dewdrop, and I would love to work alongside you.”

Dewdrop grips the neck of his bass tightly. “I…” 

“You don’t have to decide right now, Dewdrop, but please let me know if you do. I understand if you’re frustrated about losing the Papas… I am too. If it were my decision I would have turned it down. I appreciate you stopping by, Dewdrop.” 

Dewdrop looks down at the floor, his throat feeling tight. “Okay.” He quickly turns and leaves. The want to smash his bass against the wall grows as he walks down the hall. Instead of walking back to his room, he just wanders the church as he thinks. It isn’t going to be as easy as he thought it was going to be because one, the Cardinal didn’t seem as much as a conniving asshole as he thought, two, he could easily be lying about the papas, and three, he isn’t even sure about playing the part of a fire ghoul. 

Rain has been hanging out a lot with Delta and Mist in his free time. They’re just easy to talk and get along with and he didn’t really have any other friends. He’s sitting in one of the music room chairs as Mist plays some songs on her bass. Delta is turning the pages on the music sheet for her while also occasionally talking with her or Rain.

Music is something Rain had definitely heard of in Hell, but things were still a bit confusing and weird. The instruments are all oddly shaped and created sounds he wasn’t used to, but he can’t help his interest in the bass. Once Mist finishes up playing her song, Rain claps. “That was really nice.”

“Thanks.” Mist stretches out her arms. “You want a turn, Delta?”

Before Delta can say anything, Rain speaks up. “Could I try?”

The two other ghouls look at him in surprise. “Really? Fuck yeah, Rain! It’s a bit tricky at first but we can help you learn. You probably will be a natural,” Delta encourages. 

“I don’t see why not. Maybe you could even have a shot at the band since you’re fresh meat,” Mist says, getting up and handing Rain the bass. 

“You and Dewdrop could play while we cheer on in the crowd,” Delta comments.

“I don’t know how good I’ll be.” Rain figures out how to hold it, allowing Mist to help him. “But if you guys and Dewdrop all share this interest, I want to see what it’s all about.” 

“If you don’t like it, it won’t be the end of the world either,” Delta adds. “Okay, let’s start with the basics.”

Mist and Delta both help Rain out for about an hour and in that short amount of time Rain figured out the name of the strings and how to play and hold the instrument.

“What did I say? A natural,” Delta praises. 

“I like it.” Rain smiles. “I want to keep learning. You guys are nice teachers to have.”

“We can be your mentors,” Mist says, patting Rain on the shoulder. “And maybe Dewdrop can join us for a lesson sometime.”

They all wrap up their time in the band room and Rain leaves with a beginner’s book on the bass. When he played, it just felt so natural to hold and play the instrument and he really hopes to improve and be at the same level Delta and Mist are on. As the three of them walk down the hall, they spot Dewdrop with his bass.

“Dewdrop?” Mist calls out.

He looks up at them. “Copia wants me to be lead guitar,” Dewdrop states. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do.”

“Wooah! What?!” Delta exclaims. “That’s awe… uh… p-pretty cool,” he says, quickly trying to tone down his excitement. “I had to do that too, but for an aether ghoul’s spot. I can help you out with a guitar but it’s pretty similar to the bass.” 

“Just take your time thinking about it,” Mist advises. “It’s a tough call. Do you have time to decide?”

“He just told me to let him know if I do.” Dewdrop groans. “This is too damn difficult.” 

“How about we go on a trip to the river to give your mind a break,” Delta reasons. “The four of us can fuck around in the water and have fun and you don’t have to worry about all this shit.”

Rain perks up. “You have a river close by?” Rain asks.

“We do,” Dewdrop answers. “Let’s go tomorrow. My mind is all fucked right now,” he says before quickly walking off to his room.

The rest of them depart and do the same. Mist starts packing up a bag of stuff to bring for tomorrow. Their trips to the river are always one of her favorite things to do, especially after something stressful. After the death of the Papas and now Dewdrop having to figure out his conundrum, it felt like the perfect opportunity for it. Mist packs herself an extra uniform, noticing the small hole at the end of the cassock. Mist smiles for a brief moment before remembering The Third’s hole in his shoe. She sits back and rubs her face and tries to shake the memory. 

It’s something so small and stupid that when she heard it during her first live performance she didn’t believe that there was, in fact, a hole in his shoe. “Come on, Mist,” she tries to calm herself. “It’s just a… stupid hole.” She promptly buries the uniform with water bottles and snacks.

The group of water ghouls plan to meet up in front of the church late after dinner and Rain gets there first with Delta quickly following suit. “Hey,” Rain greets. “Did I need to bring anything?”

“Nah, Mist usually does. Plus, we have pretty much everything we need at the river. Don’t worry about it.” Delta pats Rain’s back. “She usually just brings snacks and stuff.”

“Cool.” Rain looks down the hallway, spotting Dewdrop. Instead of a uniform, he wears a baggy, stained t-shirt and black, swim trunks, and he had also brought his skateboard with him. “Hello.” Dewdrop waves.

“You decide to come in your pajamas?” Delta asks.

“Yeah.” Dewdrop shrugs. “Why the hell would I get in my uniform just to take it off later? And thanks for suggesting this, Delta. I really fucking need some time with you guys.”

“I figured.”

Soon enough, Mist arrives with a bag. “Hey, guys. Sorry for the holdup.”

“That’s fine. What kinda snacks did you bring?” Delta asks.

Rain listens into the conversations, not sure where to speak. His focus is suddenly shifted when he’s slapped on the behind by Dewdrop.

“Come on, let’s go,” Dewdrop says, quickly walking out the door with the others following his lead. Rain rubs the spot he was whacked before following suit. 

“Did you really have to slap me?” Rain asks, whispering to Dewdrop.

Dewdrop snorts. “I gotta wake you up a little. You fine with me slapping your ass?”

“I…” Rain’s brow furrows. “It’s… whatever. I don’t care if you do or not.”

“Cool.” Dewdrop gets onto his skateboard and stays roughly at the same pace at the rest of them. 

“Hey, Dewdrop? Think you can give me a piggyback ride while on your skateboard?” Delta playfully asks.

“What? You’d break me. You forget how much of a twig I am?”

Delta laughs. “Okay, here I go!” Delta starts running toward Dewdrop on his skateboard.  
  
“What the fuck! No way, asshole!” Dewdrop rushes to try and get away from Delta, the other ghoul easily keeping up with him. “Don’t you dare!”

Delta sprints and quickly jumps onto Dewdrop, miraculously, Dewdrop is barely able to keep his balance. “See! You’re able to hold me just fine.”

“Fuck, you’re heavy. Now get off,” Dewdrop grunts, noticeably straining.

Delta carefully dismounts, tripping a little but recovering. Mist bites back a laugh. “Man, you two are idiots.”

“Dewdrop is stronger than he seems,” Rain points out.

“Sure, but I may not have been as much as a badass if Delta didn’t jump on my right,” Dewdrop scoffs, getting off his skateboard once the path to the river was no longer paved. “We’re getting close.”

The group walks through the forest, stepping over roots or fallen twigs on their way out. Rain is warned by Dewdrop to be careful so he doesn’t fall. Sooner rather than later, they reached the river. The movement of the water was quite slow but can still be heard brushing against the soil and rocks. Mist sets down her bag and gets a hair tie, putting her hair up in a loose bun. “Okay, let’s have some fun.”  
  
Rain is first to take off his shirt and shoes. “How deep is the river?”  
  
“Depends on where you go. Shouldn’t be much of a problem,” Delta answers as he tosses off everything except the swim trunks. The other ghouls quickly get ready in their swimwear before getting into the water.

Rain follows the other’s lead as they carefully walk in. The water is cool but not freezing. They go until the water is up to their waists. Mist sighs softly. “I missed coming back here. You guys up for a game?”

“Like what?” Delta asks as he lowers himself more into the water by bending his legs. 

“Ram, but now we can play it with four people. Your stunt earlier gave me the idea, Delta. We get up on each other’s shoulders and try to knock over the other team,” Mist explains. 

“I call Rain,” Dewdrop says. 

“Alright, then it’s Mist and I on the other team. You guys are gonna be soooo fucked,” Delta boasts before getting up. “Let’s get ready.” Mist and Delta wade a bit farther into the water to strategize and get setup.

Rain looks to Dewdrop. “Do you want me to be carried?”

“What? Hell no. You’re too heavy that after thirty seconds I would break.”

“I mean, you were able to carry me before,” Rain reminds. 

“Yeah, but it’d just be smarter if I’m on top. You could probably carry me no problem,” Dewdrop says before going ahead and climbing up Rain, making the other water ghoul grunt and wobble a bit. “Don’t fall already!” Dewdrop gets situated on top of Rain’s shoulders and pats his head. “Okay, onward!”

Rain holds onto Dewdrop’s calves and walks over to the other two. Delta is on the bottom while Mist is sitting on his shoulders. “Okay, Rain,” Dewdrop whispers. “Just stay steady for me as best as you can.”  
  
“Got it.” Rain nods, determined to win against them.

“Team heavy fog is ready,” Mist chimes in.

“Uhh… team--” Dewdrop starts but is cut off by Rain.

“Team spicy rain.”

“Yeah… team spicy rain,” Dewdrop agrees. “Spicy rain is ready. How about you count us off, Delta.”

“Here goes. Three…” 

Rain stares directly at Delta, who meets his gaze with an equally determined expression. 

“Two…”

Mist holds her arms out, ready to push and shove Dewdrop off. 

“One…”

Dewdrop bites his lip a little as he looks over their opponents, hoping to spot an early weak spot before they start.

“Go!”

Rain’s grip on Dewdrop’s calves tightens before he quickly heads Delta and Mist’s direction who focus on anchoring themselves. Rain cuts through the water with ease, wanting to get Dewdrop close enough to reach the other team. Once they are, Dewdrop goes for a quick shove but his arms are caught by Mist. Dewdrop lowers his head to try and hit Mist with his horns and Mist quickly does the same, the two of them locking and pushing against each other.

  
  
Rain stays steady despite the harsh movements above him. Delta looks up, watching Dewdrop and Mist battle it out. Rain takes a deep breath before raising his leg and shoving Delta back with it. Delta grunts and staggers back, nearly losing his balance. “Fuck!” 

Dewdrop loses his grip on Mist as they’re pushed back. If anything, he’s pretty thankful for the break and to be able to catch his breath. 

Mist grins. “Rain is throwing some punches, huh?” She asks.

“More like some kicks,” Delta corrects. “Okay, let’s go!”

Mist’s smile is still on her face as they rush toward the other team. She lowers her head and rams her horns against Dew’s while her hands grip his wrists, pulling Dewdrop forward as best as she can. “Come here, twig!”

Dewdrop starts to slide forward. “Rain, back up,” he calls out and Rain follows the command. Unfortunately for them, Mist still has an iron grip on Dewdrop’s wrists and the greater distance just aids her. Dew falls forward and off of Rain.

Mist cheers. “Fuck yeah! We did it!” Mist and Delta high five each other while Dewdrop comes back up, spitting water at them.

“Yeaaah, you guys did it,” Dewdrop says and shrugs. “Good game.”

“Yeah, that was really good,” Delta agrees. “Good game, you guys.”

The water ghouls continue to have their fun late into the night. They all continue to play around in the river, even playing ram a few more times, before deeming it time to head back. Exhausted from playing, the four of them sleep soundly in their separate rooms.

Dewdrop is called early that morning to attend and take part in a summoning. Dewdrop slowly gets moving and gets into his uniform, not even bothering to shower. Not his idea of the day after a trip to the river, but this, unfortunately, is required work. He slowly goes over to the summoning room, fighting the urge to just sit down and fall asleep since he has done it before. It’s easy to do with a mask. 

Cardinal Copia is there getting the ritual circle setup with chalk while a few other ghouls stand around and some siblings of sin watch from their seats. Copia looks up when he sees Dewdrop. “Good morning,” Copia greets. “We needed the last element to perform the ritual. Thank you for coming on such short notice.”  
  
“Yeah, whatever.” Dewdrop eyes the other ghouls standing near the circle. A super tall, even taller than Rain, earth ghoul stands off to the side, his shirt a bit damp with sweat. His mask was different from his own and Dewdrop figures he’s one of the newer ghouls since it looks like Rain’s mask.

After a few minutes, the five ghouls are instructed to stand on each point of the pentagram. Copia speaks in Latin, holding one of those newer ghoul masks in his hands and suddenly a portal opens up in the circle and a big aether ghoul climbs out. The room is quiet for a few, brief moments as the ghoul looks around. 

Dewdrop can see the Cardinal’s chest rising and falling quickly and that his eyes are wider than he’s ever seen them before. “Our new aether ghoul!” Copia calls out. “Would you please--” A purple flame lights around the circle and a low, deep growl comes from the ghoul, almost like a crocodile. Dewdrop and the other ghouls back up while Copia stands his ground. “We’re not trying to hurt you. Please--”

Copia is cut off again, but this time the big ghoul disappears. Dewdrop starts to sweat and his eyes dart around the room and he tries to see something he can use as a weapon because water won’t do shit against this behemoth. There’s a loud thud followed by a cry of pain. Copia is knocked to the floor. The mask flew off to the side. The ghoul is pinning him to the ground. 

“Get the mask!”

Dewdrop runs around, nearly falling on the wooden floor as he grabs the mask. The ghoul is distracted by Copia, just wanting to tear into him. Dewdrop runs over and shoves the mask on in one swoop. The big aether ghoul starts to forcefully glamour as other ghouls restrain it. Dewdrop kneels down next to Copia. “You okay?”

Copia’s breathing is shaky and darker red is visible on parts of his already red cassock. “Thank you, Dewdrop. I think I am okay.”

Dewdrop’s brow furrows and returns his attention to the behemoth. The ghoul struggles to stay standing and it isn’t long until the ghoul collapses the floor, knocked out cold. “Glad that’s fucking over with,” he mutters. “You need to get to the infirmary,” Dewdrop tells Copia. “You’re bleeding.”

Copia slowly and carefully stands up. “I’ll make sure to be assessed. Thank you again for saving my life, Dewdrop. Everyone, you’re dismissed. Ghouls, please stay here to restrain the newcomer while I’m gone,” he says before walking out. 

Dewdrop watches him go before going to help the others. 

As all the dust settles from the morning incident, mostly everything is back to normal. Delta, Mist, and Rain all meet up for lunch. As Rain sits down, Mist speaks up. “Did you guys hear about what happened this morning? The summoning went horribly.”

“I only heard the siblings of sin whispering about it. Maybe they’re all exaggerating. You know how they can be sometimes,” Delta adds with a shrug. “I doubt Copia would screw up that badly.” 

“Aether ghouls are fucking hard to summon--” As Mist’s talks, Dewdrop comes over to their table and sits down-- “So who knows what the hell happened really. Hey, Dewdrop.”

“You guys talking about the summoning?” He asks.

Delta nods. “Yeah, pretty crazy shit, huh?”  
  
“Yeah, I was called down there to be a part of it,” Dewdrop says nonchalantly. “The big guy teleported out of the circle and then tackled Copia. I slapped that mask on that son of a bitch,” he tells the story.

“What? Really...? Damn,” Mist says and shakes her head in disbelief. 

“Was your summoning that troublesome?” Delta asks Rain.

“No. I was more confused than anything and before I knew it I was… this,” Rain says and motions to himself. “I already knew English so talking was easy to do with… uhm, Copia, I think.”

“English must be spreading in Hell. You’d think we’d be taught Swedish but English is used more,” Mist points out. “So is it a newer ghoul like Rain?”

“Yup, I think so. Summoned for the band I’m thinking. And… I have to make my decision still,” Dewdrop mutters. “I don’t want to fuck something up and make the wrong choice.”

“Totally get it,” Delta says. “It’s a hard one given the circumstances.”

“Maybe you should just talk to Copia and get to know him better?” Mist suggests. “It’s not the coolest way to handle things, but I’m sure if you just talk about it you guys can work something out.”

“And maybe you can ask just to be a bass ghoul? Hell, Rain could even join you on tour if he gives it a shot and makes it a bit more comfortable,” Delta comments.

Dewdrop takes a few moments to soak up the advice before standing up. “I’ll go see him in the infirmary. You wanna come, Rain?”

“Sure.” Rain stands up. “Thanks for lunch, guys.”

Rain and Dewdrop head off towards the infirmary. Delta and Mist watch them leave before returning to their food. “Do you think they’ll still be friends with us if they’re a part of the band?” Delta asks.

“I’m sure they will be but we just won’t have as much time to hang out as a big group,” Mist answers. “It’s… sad to think about it.”

“Uh-huh. I want them both to have an opportunity because it’s an awesome one to have. I’d love to see Dewdrop fulfilling the role of lead guitar cause a water ghoul has never done that.” Delta rests the side of his face in his hand. “But I’m just gonna miss them, that’s all. Like… we’re all over the Papa's deaths already even though we’re not. Just kinda seems that way.”

“I’m not and I’m sure Dewdrop isn’t either,” Mist points out. “It’s just hard to be stuck in that hole of mourning forever. I don’t think it’s what they’d want or… I don’t know, maybe they do want us to be sad over them. For now, I think we just have to keep supporting everyone in our tiny water ghoul pack.”

“Yeah… definitely.”

“D’You wanna be a band ghoul?” Dewdrop asks Rain as they walk down the hall.

“Maybe… I like playing the bass and Delta and Mist have been giving me lessons.” 

“I guess we could go on tour together if you get through auditions. Maybe talking to him will give you an edge above the rest. I still don’t know if I want to,” Dewdrop says and opens the door to the infirmary. “Is Cardinal Copia in here?” Dewdrop asks a nurse.

“Yeah, he’s over to the left. He’ll be discharged soon.”

Dewdrop thanks the nurse and walks over with Rain. Copia is sat with his legs over the edge of the bed, his shirt off and his chest and abdomen covered in bandages. He looks up when he sees the two of them. “Ah, I wasn’t expecting visitors, I apologize.” Copia reaches for a loose t-shirt. 

“You’re fine, don’t worry,” Dewdrop says quickly, making Copia stop. “We just wanted to talk about a few things but if you’re not in the mood for it we can go.”

“No, you’re alright,” Copia assures them.

“Cool. Uh, this is Rain. He was summoned a couple of weeks ago or so now.”

Rain gives a small bow. “It’s nice to see you again. I would like to take my shot at the bass audition when you are able anyway. I am learning the bass thanks to Dewdrop’s friends and I want to know more about the tour.”

“Me too, actually. I’m… confused and not sure about my decision,” Dewdrop says quickly, feeling a bit silly for admitting that in front of him. “And I want to know why you’re going to be our new Papa.”

Copia listens to their concerns and chuckles a little. “Ah, I see. I can answer those questions quite easily then. As for Rain, you can stop in almost whenever you’d like. It is also very nice to see you again and I hope you are getting adjusted. And Dewdrop, I was chosen by Nihil and Imperator. There weren't any other Emeritus brothers and they deemed me as the best fit for the position but I’m… I’m not Papa yet. I may not ever be Papa. For now I am a simple Cardinal. For all I know, I could perform poorly during the tour and be killed like the rest. I do not have much choice in the matter.”

“So it’s the old pricks fucking everything up,” Dewdrop mutters. “If I’m being honest, they should have the Third go on for longer instead of fucking killing them all off.” Dewdrop resists saying anything else. Yes, Copia may just be a card played by them but he could still relay information to the two true leaders. 

“I understand your frustrations,” Copia says and nods.

Rain speaks up, “I want to know that… if we’re not sure that you’ll be Papa, what would happen to your band ghouls?”

“Just like the other band ghouls that lost their leaders, you would be welcome to go back to hell, stay here, or go to another church,” Copia lists out. “I am sorry if you are upset about what happened. Imperator or Nihil won’t hesitate to tell you that it was their decision, believe me.”

Dewdrop stomps his foot once out of frustration. “Bastards,” he spits out. “Thanks.” Dewdrop quickly leaves. 

Rain stays behind. “It has been difficult for all of us. I wasn’t even around to meet the Papas, but I know the effects that they had on their friends. I may not be the most skilled bassist at the moment, but I will continue to work and get comfortable with the instrument so I can… have a chance to be one of your band ghouls,” Rain says with determination. 

Copia smiles a little. “I am looking forward to it.”

Rain gives a small bow again before leaving as well.

Later in the evening, Delta is resting in his room, playing music, and browsing social media on his phone. He hears a knock on the door and puts on his mask before answering it, surprised to see Rain. “Oh, hey. What’s up?”  
  
“Can I hang out with you for a bit?” Rain asks.

“Sure.” Delta moves out of the way for Rain to come inside the room. “There something you need?”  
  
“I want you to tell me everything I need to know about being a band ghoul. I really want to do this. I want to prove myself and be like all of you guys,” Rain says as he steps inside. “I know it’ll be hard and I may not even do it, but that’s why I want more of your help.”  
  
Delta grins. “Alright. I’ll give you all of the information you need to know.”

On that same evening, Dewdrop is in the band room, staying late and playing the guitar. He wishes he could speak to Alpha or even Omega about how to play the guitar but they haven’t talked ever since the tour. He’s positive that the death of the Papas had a similar effect on them as it did on himself. Starting from nearly the beginning again, Dewdrop strums away on the guitar. He looks up when he sees the door open.

A muscular, well-built aether ghoul steps in. “Sorry, I heard music from out…” He pauses. “It’s… You were there. You helped summon me.”

“Yeah? What about it? I’m kinda busy here.”

“You…” His ear’s droop and he looks away. “I’m sorry for how I acted back there. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“It’s whatever, dude. Just don’t do something like that again, okay?” Dewdrop says before looking back at the music sheet. 

The ghoul stands there for a few moments before promptly leaving.

A month goes by, the season slowly starting to shift into fall. 

Rain and Dewdrop practice hard. Their mindset is basically to give the audition a shot and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Rain steps inside Copia’s office, focusing on steadying his breathing. “I’d like to audition.”

Dewdrop does his audition a few days after Rain’s and he thinks it’s gone pretty well. Instead of really making his own decision, he lets Copia decide his fate. If he’s not picked to come onto the tour, then that’s that and he’ll continue messing around with his group of friends.

Mist has been doing her damnedest to help Rain with the bass and just like nearly every water ghoul, he had a very good grasp on it. Tours weren’t going to start until next summer but Copia’s decisions for who he wanted to bring needed to be finalized at the start of winter. Still, Dewdrop and Rain could still be chosen before then. Mist takes her time decorating a cake she had made. Her room is decorated with a few balloons and streamers here and there. The three other ghouls in the pack were told to stop by in about a half hour for a surprise. 

Mist chirps in delight as she sees the cake come together with her decorations of frosting. She sets the cake off to the side and works on cleaning up. Time passes and the door swings open. Dewdrop, Rain, and Delta all had walked down together. 

“Woah, what’s… with all the… party stuff?” Delta asks as he steps in.

“Yeah, why did--holy shit did you make a cake?” Dewdrop asks, his tail instantly wagging as he spots the cake.

“It’s just a party celebrating us,” Mist answers. “I want a good excuse for all of us to have fun together again, like at the river. I’m… I’m gonna be honest, okay? I fucking love you idiots and I know you two--” Mist refers to Dewdrop and Rain-- “may end up going off together on tour or maybe it will just be Rain, or hell, neither of you.” Mist feels tears start to brim in her eyes and she looks away. “You guys have been there to make me happy as all hell despite still… mourning,” Mist explains quietly as she wipes away her tears. “So… this will be like a thank you.”

“All of you have helped me,” Rain speaks up. “I wouldn’t have been so adjusted if I hadn’t stumbled upon you guys.”

“Ugh, you guys are going to make me cry,” Delta says with a chuckle. “I love all of my water ghoul douchebags. This is really thoughtful of you, Mist.”  
  
Dewdrop smiles as the group talks. “Yeah, for sure.”  
  
Mist sniffles and nods. “Yeah… let’s have some fucking fun then.”

Another knock is at the door. Mist sets down her plate and goes to answer it. “Uh, good afternoon, Special.”

“I was told Rain and Dewdrop are in here?” He asks, peering over her shoulder.

“Yeah.” Mist swallows hard, feeling nervous now.

“Well, fortunately, or unfortunately, you’ve both been accepted as a part of the band,” Special says simply. “You and the other bandmates will be meeting at the band room at nine o’clock sharp. Don’t be late!” Special walks off promptly after and Mist closes her door. 

“Holy shit, you guys did it,” Mist says, a big smile on her face. 

Rain’s tail starts wagging and he chirps and chitters happily. “Oh, that’s amazing! We made it, Dewdrop. Oh my lord, we did it!” He sets down his plate and goes to hug Dewdrop who is still reeling from the news. Slowly, Dewdrop hugs Rain back. 

“Yeah... we fucking did it."

A month or so after the party, all of the band ghouls and Copia were told to meet at the band room. Rain and Dewdrop walk down there together. Dewdrop is surprised to see so many ghouls, counting seven in total including him and Rain. His brow is furrowed as he walks up to the group, looking over everyone for a brief moment. A short ghoulette, around Dewdrop’s height, speaks up. “Now that all of us ghoulies are here, uhm, my name is Cumulus. It’s nice to meet all of you. I feel like we should introduce ourselves while Copia isn’t here.”

“My name’s Dewdrop. Anyone know why there’s so many of us?” He asks and isn’t met with much of a response, spotting a shrug from a ghoul holding a tambourine. “Huh…”

The door opens and Copia rushes in. “Sorry for the delay, everyone. I got caught up in something.”  
  
“Why are there seven of us?” The ghoul with the tambourine asks. “We’re all not gonna duel it out for people’s spots, right? Special wasn’t very descriptive.”

“Ah, you’re all a part of the band, please don’t think otherwise. I know it’s more than what the previous Papas had, but I believe we can make rituals stronger with more performers. I know for certain that all of you are very skilled and everyone has an important part,” Copia explains. “Now, let’s all get introduced if… we haven’t already, anyway.”

Practices flew by quickly that when it was time to go on the tour that it felt as if it came out of nowhere. The friend group along with other band ghouls and their friends all stand in the main entrance. Mist gives Rain and Dewdrop both tight hugs. “You guys fucking got this, okay? When you guys get to your hotels please call cause I will really wanna hear from you two,” she says honestly. 

“We will,” Rain promises. “It’ll be hard just… being split up. If you guys could join, I would love that.”

“Yeah, and have a whole orchestra of bassists,” Delta says with a weak laugh, not wanting to leave on a sad note. “But yeah, you guys are gonna do great. Just make sure you remember us when you guys are all famous.”

Dewdrop rolls his eyes and scoffs. “No one even knows who we are. We’re just nameless performers to the audience.”

“Who knows.” Mist shrugs. “You guys may be really popular. I know Omega and Alpha were really loved.”

“Hell, you guys could even become associated and named that way,” Delta adds. “Omega and Alpha didn’t get their names until the people in the crowd gave them to the two dorks. Maybe you guys will be renamed… Dewdrop? I can see the name Stompy in your future.” Delta is given an affection punch in the shoulder by Dewdrop.

“Yeah right.” 

They all look up when Copia calls out for them to get onto the bus. Time to go. Rain hugs Delta and Mist again while Dewdrop waves and leaves, unable to stay for much longer since he’s not sure if he could if he had lingered. 

“I love you guys,” Rain tells them. “Thank you for being my friends through all of this craziness. You guys are what brought me here.”

Delta starts tearing up. “Shit dude… I’m really proud of you and Dewdrop. Now, go and kick some ass before I start sobbing.”

Rain chuckles and pulls away from the hug. “Take care of yourselves.” Rain picks up his bag and leaves.

The tour bus is packed with stuff and the ghouls, all of them waving from the windows to the small crowd of people outside. 

“So dramatic,” a “youthful” spirit comments. “I’m glad they were able to move on even though I hate that we even had to go!”

“Not like we had much choice in the matter. Your ghouls are doing a good job,” another spirit replies. 

“Most of them. If anything, I’m glad these four have each other now even though they will be separated for a time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it, especially since there's been such a content drought at the moment. If you haven't checked out @beliefscontagious or @specterruins blogs, please do! They both helped me throughout the process of writing and things would have been a lot shittier if I didn't have the help. Please go check them out!


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